Massengales Praises Police

Editors Note: This letter was forwarded to East Ridge News Online by ERPD Chief J.R. Reed

Chief J.R. Reed, East Ridge Police Department, 9/24/15

Chief,

I’d like to commend one of your officers, William Johnson.

On Wednesday, September 23, I received a call from Officer Johnson at about 5:00 PM. He asked me about our Husky, Dakota. She had “escaped” from our deck, which has baby gates at the openings on both ends. (Note: baby gates won’t keep a Husky in!)

Officer Johnson had spotted “Kota” near the entrance to our subdivision in East Ridge, and he thought she didn’t look like a typical stray. He called to her and checked her tag, found her name and my contact information.

Officer Johnson not only called me, but when I explained that my wife was at work in Ooltewah, and I was occupied in downtown Chattanooga, he brought Kota home and put her in our back yard, closing the gate behind her! He was such an absolute gentleman on the phone, and probably kept our dog from being lost for an extended period (Huskies are known for their love of wandering – AND their terrible sense of direction!).

Police officers get a bad rap too often. We don’t want this act of kindness that went WAY beyond the call of duty to go unnoticed. Please pass along our gratitude to Officer William Johnson!

Regards, Dennis & Karen Massengale

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.